The Daily Brief — July 22, 2026
US–Saudi nuclear deal, Medicaid funding, Epstein model scout dead
These are today’s top stories, delivered straight to your inbox. Catch up here on all the news.
US–Saudi Nuclear Deal
President Trump has approved a nuclear cooperation agreement with Saudi Arabia that could pave the way for the kingdom to enrich its own fuel for civilian nuclear reactors. The agreement calls for the two countries to conduct a two-year study to examine whether it would be commercially and strategically viable to enrich uranium in the country.
The proposed 30-year agreement is estimated to be worth tens of billions of dollars, with US companies expected to play a major role in developing Saudi Arabia’s civilian nuclear program.
The deal is expected to be submitted to Congress, which will have 90 days to review it and could pass a resolution blocking it.
In addition to creating business opportunities for the American nuclear industry, it could deny Russia and China a role in a Saudi nuclear program. But lawmakers from both parties worry that helping Saudi Arabia enrich uranium — rather than allowing it simply to buy pre-enriched fuel as most countries do — could push it closer to a nuclear weapons capability.
House Passes Funding, Defense Bills
The House passed a bill yesterday to fund the government until after the midterm elections in November. The House also passed final versions of two more bills today — the annual defense policy bill known as the NDAA, and a budget resolution that clears the way for a $95 billion “reconciliation” package — each largely along party lines.
The $1.5 trillion NDAA sets policy and spending levels for the Pentagon. It also formally changes the name of the Defense Department to the Department of War. Yesterday, the House approved a procedural rule that would attach the SAVE Act, which would require proof of citizenship to register to vote and a photo ID to cast a ballot, to the NDAA before it goes to the Senate. The Senate is likely to strip the SAVE Act out of the NDAA, as nearly all Democrats and a handful of Republicans are opposed to it.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune said that instead of proceeding with the House’s funding bill, he wants to bring a bipartisan funding deal to the Senate floor before the August break. That bill, if passed, would then need House approval when lawmakers return in late August.
NJ Finds 6,600 Noncitizens on Voter Rolls
New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill said that about 6,600 noncitizens in New Jersey were incorrectly registered to vote because of a software glitch at the state’s Motor Vehicle Commission. The system was supposed to reject anyone who said they weren’t a citizen, but the glitch registered them regardless. The software error began in June 2023 and was not fixed until a year later. Sherill said she found out about it only last week. New Jersey is now replacing the software vendor that worked with the state’s Motor Vehicle Commission.
Sherrill said that about 400 of those registered actually cast ballots. A New York Times analysis found that they could not have changed election outcomes. Even if all 400 had cast ballots in the state’s 2023 local elections, they would have accounted for just 0.02% of votes cast. Had they all voted in the 2024 presidential election, they would have represented about 0.009% of the statewide vote. Vice President Kamala Harris carried New Jersey by more than 252,000 votes over Donald Trump in that election.
Newsbreak
Fans of historical fiction laced with mystery and family drama need look no further than Runner, the new novel from Ashton Lattimore. When Lena Jameson’s father dies in a suspicious shipwreck off the coast of Martha’s Vineyard, the family is left with more questions than answers — was he taken down by rival rumrunners? Did local lawmen finally catch up with him? Or was it an accident? As Lena plunges into the criminal underworld to find out what really happened that night, she turns up more truths than she bargained for, uncovering decades-old secrets that will turn her family upside down. Runner will be published on July 28, and we’d be thrilled if you pre-ordered a copy!
Iran War Cost Tops $37B
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told a Senate committee yesterday that the Iran war has cost $37.5 billion so far, while asking Congress for $67 billion more in supplemental funding. That estimate covers munitions, payroll, and equipment maintenance. The new figure is up from the roughly $29 billion presented to lawmakers in May.
NBC reported that the Defense Department’s internal estimate of the war so far is in fact much higher, between $80 billion and $100 billion. The estimate includes the cost of repairing damaged military bases, replacing lost aircraft, and restocking weapons used during the conflict.
The hearing grew heated as Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI) pressed Hegseth on what he described as a lack of a strategy in the Iran conflict, calling it a “forever war” and an “utter and complete failure.” Hegseth called those characterizations “reckless” and “irresponsible.”
Separately, the administration is requesting $1.5 trillion for the Pentagon’s 2027 budget, a 42% increase over current levels.
Medicaid Funds to CA, MN Paused
The Trump administration has paused more than $1 billion in Medicaid payments to California and Minnesota over alleged fraud. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said the administration is holding back $867.5 million from California and $199 million from Minnesota until the states document that the claims under review are legitimate.
CMS Administrator Mehmet Oz, who also spoke at the press conference, said California’s spending on in-home care for seniors and people with disabilities grew at more than double the national rate over the past two years. California Gov. Gavin Newsom replied by saying the state has tried to keep “seniors and people with disabilities out of far more expensive nursing homes.”
As for Minnesota, officials reviewed Medicaid claims in 14 service areas CMS considers high-risk. That review, the officials said, turned up claims needing more documentation, including payments tied to providers who were already flagged as suspicious in earlier reviews, as well as other claims raising “eligibility and billing concerns.” Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz challenged the fraud claims and said the Trump administration was cutting Medicaid payments to help pay for tax cuts for billionaires.
It’s the third Medicaid freeze this year. In February, the administration paused about $260 million in Medicaid funds for Minnesota over a separate fraud allegation. In May, it withheld $1.3 billion from California, citing the state’s hospice program.
Epstein Model Scout Found Dead
A modeling scout who recruited women for Jeffrey Epstein has been found dead at his home outside Paris, French authorities said. Daniel Siad’s body was discovered earlier this week. An autopsy is planned to determine the cause of death.
In a recent interview, Siad told CNN he had believed Epstein was working as a casting director for Victoria’s Secret and the modeling agency MC2 when he recruited women. Siad was under investigation in France for rape and human trafficking.